Hollis

LATEST ARTICLES ( 440 )

• Mono Lake—the Simple Life

  

  When friends asked where I was going on my trip last September, I learned to say "Mono Lake". It was the only place in central eastern California they knew. Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2023 OUTDOORS

• Treefollowing: a Pine I Met in California

  

  What happed to that tree?After a warm hike up Obsidian Dome we cooled off in the van, parked in the shade of pines. That's when I noticed the unusual tree... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2023 OUTDOORS

• A Marine Graveyard in West-central Nevada

  

  Eye of the IchthyosaurMy visit to the volcanoes of eastern California last May was far too short, but there was nothing I could do. Life called. Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree-following: Good News (mostly)

  

  After skipping a month, we headed off to visit the Rocky Mountain Junipers I'm following this year. There were big changes. The grass is mostly straw-colored... Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2023 OUTDOORS

• Panum Volcano: "just a Baby" but What a Life So Far!

  

  Panum: phreatic, pyroclastic, Strombolian, or extruded? Answer: all of the above. (Google Earth 2019)."Pa-num, in the Pa-vi-o-osi [local Paiute] language,... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2023 OUTDOORS

• Volcanic Tableland & Owen's River Gorge

  

  Last May on the way home from the West Coast, we stopped below the steep east face of the Sierra Nevada. From the campsite I looked out across the broad Volcani... Read more

  Posted on 14 August 2023 OUTDOORS

• Treefollowing: Last Year's Tree & a Carboniferous Pond

  

  Remember this tree? (August 2022)Given how lovely it's been in the Laramie Mountains, I decided to check on the Balsam Poplar I followed last year instead of... Read more

  Posted on 07 August 2023 OUTDOORS

• Cowboy's Delight

  

  Not what you expected?On my tree-following expedition last week, I saw patch after patch of Sphaeralcea coccinea in full bloom. For many years I knew it as... Read more

  Posted on 17 July 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree-following: Junipers in July

  

  My field assistant stayed home (too warm). But I managed to find both my trees and the shutter release button, thereby verifying my visit. Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2023 OUTDOORS

• Goodbye, Jan Conn—legendary Rock Climber, Caver, Musician & Much More

  

  Jan Conn (center) with her woodworking group.Jan Conn passed away in May at age 99. She was a valuable part of my life, following a lifestyle to which I aspired... Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2023 OUTDOORS

• Blue Sailors & Brown Pelicans at Surf, California

  

  Surf BeachSurf is an unstaffed Amtrak rail stop on the California coast west of Lompoc. It's part of Vandenberg Space Force Base, but there's public access to... Read more

  Posted on 25 June 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree-visiting at Mission La Purísima

  

  Fountains and olive trees. Olive oil was one source of mission income back in the day.Rather than trying to visit my Rocky Mountain Junipers between... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2023 OUTDOORS

• California's Central Coast, Through a Lens

  

  "I gazing at the boundaries of granite and spray, the established sea-marks, felt behind meMountain and plain, the immense breadth of the continent,before me th... Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree-following: What to Do on a Windy Wyoming Day?

  

  Mid-photo are the two Rocky Mountain Junipers I'm following, at the base of the Laramie Mountains.The approach was not a problem.A few days ago I made a short... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2023 OUTDOORS

• April Tree-following—about That Lichen

  

  Several days ago, we headed off to visit the trees I'm following this year. It was a warmish sunny day that felt like spring, finally. And it was very windy,... Read more

  Posted on 14 April 2023 OUTDOORS

• Seeing the Craton

  

  Granite quarry near Milbank, South Dakota, in the southwest part of the Superior Craton."Craton" comes from the Greek word κράτος, meaning strength. Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree Following in March ... Almost Spring!

  

  Eastern Laramie Plains, Laramie Mountains in distance, my junipers circled.Mid March is here and spring is approaching, even in Laramie at 7200 ft elevation.... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2023 OUTDOORS

• Cartographer Joseph Nicollet's Eponymous Plant

  

  Nicolletia, Hole-in-the-sand Plant. Van Loon photo.For those who missed my recent posts about cartographer Joseph Nicollet (here and here), he figured... Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2023 OUTDOORS

• Glacial Beauty in South Dakota

  

  "[The Coteau des Prairies] is a most beautiful tract of land, diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes; the latter abounding in fish" (Joseph Nicollet,... Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2023 OUTDOORS

• Tree Following: New Tree(s) for 2023

  

  Arrow points to our destination—a Rocky Mountain JuniperEvery year about this time, we tree followers are out searching for a new tree. Unfamiliar with tree... Read more

  Posted on 14 February 2023 OUTDOORS